Blog # 45 How Do You Jump Start a Sales Person? You Can’t.

Recently, I was chatting with a good friend of mine who is a partner in a law firm. The topic of discussion was his on-going frustration with a junior associate who just wasn’t measuring up. Specifically, while this individual was competent at doing work given to him, he just wasn’t developing any business beyond that, a clear expectation of his position.

Now, you’re probably asking yourself, what is a story about a lawyer doing on a blog dedicated to sales and prospecting? The answer is simple. Sales exist in many different environments and professional services are a good example, although they seldom like to admit it. Any service, business, or commercial entity is dependant on clients, and therefore one must find and sell clients.

In this case, you have a highly educated and competent professional that had proven his worth at prior firms based on his legal acumen. In the new environment, he was required to proactively seek out cases, or “files” as they are known in the field, and add to his case load, therefore contributing to the revenue of the practice. This, by any definition, is a sales function.

Throughout my career as a sales consultant, I have played the role of a sponge to all sorts of sales leaders, all of whom were looking to vent their annoyance about sales people that lacked drive. I have participated in countless meetings and discussions about how to remedy this plague, the sales person who only ever does enough, the bare minimum, or less.

There’s no shortage of theories or programs that have propagated the “sales consultancy” world that claim to have the magic solution, the scratch to this annoying itch that so many sales leaders face. There are incentive programs, compensation programs, contest programs, psych evaluation programs, to name a few, that all promise to motivate or jump start the lackluster sales person.

Perhaps the biggest fallacy is that most sales people are motivated by money. They are not.

Once you strip away the top ten percent – your star performers that don’t need any help, and the bottom ten percent that just cant be salvaged, you’re left with the middle eighty percent and for those, money is generally not one of the top reasons they picked sales.

Rather, most sales people choose the profession because of the following:

• They are smart and have the gift of the gab: Those who gravitate to sales are often people that have found throughout their lives that they usually prevail when it comes to making their point, or winning a debate.
• For natural sales people, it comes easy: The amount of effort to meet the minimum goal required often demands less than a complete effort.
• Freedom: Most sales positions offer a fair bit of freedom and the opportunity to avoid punching a clock, or being cooped up in an office all day.
• Instant gratification: Many sales careers offer opportunities for a quick fix. This “drug” is often available as employers measure success on weekly, monthly, and quarterly results.

I have witnessed countless sales leaders institute countless attempts to motivate or induce action from the under performing sales performer, all to no avail.

Good sales people, sales people who are motivated and self starting have unique characteristics.

Number one is they are competitive.  Top sales achievers are driven and like to be number one or close to it.

Number two is they crave recognition. They derive energy by the carrot received for being best. They like money, but what they really like is the recognition and profile it provides them within their industries and, amongst their employers and peers.

Number three is money… just not for the money. Organizations who believe that top sales performers are motivated by money for moneys sake are missing the point. For top performers, money is a bench mark by which they measure or gage their success. It’s rarely about having more money so they can go out and buy an expensive sports car or house, but rather a way of keeping score.

If you’re managing a sales person that has some or all of these qualities, then you are working with the right raw materials. If you don’t, you’re time is probably spent better elsewhere.

Like everything else in life, there are of course exceptions. A good number of sales people thrive and become better producers when put in a structured and regimented environment. These same people are generally high maintenance, require significant oversight and managing. If the company’s “habitat” provides this necessary supervision, then those who lack their own ignition can be helped.  If not, go back to the above